Mashed Musings

It has been quite a while since Amit has seen a cricket match from the “toss” to the “man of the match”. IPL tried to reinstate the dying flame of his interests and has been moderately successful. So, when the prospect of watching a live match in a stadium presented itself, he was as dauntless as a newborn peeing on his father’s pants.

And so it was settled. He was to witness the Indian Premier League(IPL) match between Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Daredevils to be battled at Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai on 2 May 2008. The tickets were promptly bought well in advance and he marched into the stadium with his friends on the appointed day. This was the first time Amit was about to witness a match in the Stadium.

Nothing could have prepared him for the euphoria he witnessed there. The stadium was chok-a-block with fans waiting for the stars of the show to appear. Indian flags(?!?), colourful posters, fluttering fans/tickets and a wave of over excited crowd were the first visual imbroglio available. The only calm thing in the whole stadium was the pitch, as if preparing itself to be stomped. As Dhoni, Captain of the Chennai Super Kings, won the toss and chose to bat, the excitement of the crowd reached another crescendo. Amit had never heard such blood curling screams before but he was gulping in all the excitement and was as excited as everyone else, but in a much more subdued way.

As the CSK started to bat, Stephen Flemming was lost too soon and Parthiv Patel followed him in a jiffy. Vidyut and Dhoni somehow tried to steady the score and CSK ended their innings with 169/6 in 20 overs. As if the score was not depressing enough, as soon as the Delhi Daredevils started their innings, Sehwag went completely out of control. By the time Sehwag got out at 71, the damage was already done. Still, till the end the CSKs were treading a very thin line and there was a ray of hope for them as long as they were not allowing the Daredevils to take 4s and 6s. It was a very close call and Amit was biting his nails. But the final damage was done in the second last over and the Delhi Daredevils won by 8 wickets with 6 balls remaining. The crowd was not much sad and they cheered Sehwag as much as Dhoni. And yes, the histrionics of Billy Bowden were definitely not worth a miss.

Some points which Amit noticed :

• Watching a cricket match in a Stadium is entirely different from watching it on television. If the weather is good, going to a stadium is a very good option. Of course, there won’t be those colourful analysis/graphics screens showing the ball positions and the shots, but then what the heck!!!
• The Cheerleaders were fully( ) covered in yellow outfits and still people were gloating over them.
• There was a huge net in front of the seats and Amit was not able to understand its necessity. It was only after the match ended and people started throwing water bottles towards the ground, that the purpose of the net came to light.
• The cricket stadium is not as big as it appears in the television. In fact its quite small and even if you are sitting at the last row, you can very easily follow the ball.
• Watching all those cricketers in 3D, whom you are so much used to watch in 2D can be quite a dizzying experience. Your mind might refuse to believe that they are actually there. Its like watching your favourite actor standing in front of you. You will definitely pinch yourself.
  
• The experience can surely be repeated in a better weather condition and with a more expensive ticket.
• Amit had lost another point in the PFHOI contest being hosted on Ish’s Dead End.
• Amit has written a post on cricket. He could not have imagined this in his wildest fantasies.

Thats it for the day, ladeej and genteelmen.

(The photographs have been taken by me by my Moto rokr Z6 and are not to be used for any commercial purpose)

This post is dedicated to all the sleepyheads who forgot to wish me on my birthday. Yeah Yeah, now don’t give that sleepy grin or the Oh-shit look. I must admit that this year the number of people who would be facing the wrath is very less and I am quite happy about it. And as a once a year bonus, I was spared the task of decorating birthday cards with my calligraphy.

So, for all those who still are scratching their heads, 1 May was the historical day on which I was born. Its celebrated all over the world as May Day/Labour Day/International Worker’s Day. And yes I am quite used to being called a “labourer” at times. Once when I was quite acerbic and poured my heart to one of my friends about the disadvantages of being born on Labour Day, she patted my shoulder and replied - You should thank God that its not Labour Pain day.

Talk about being optimistic. But Christ!!!!! Labour Pain day???

Ok, coming back to yesterday, my roommates brought a chocolate and walnut cake at 12 am and I had a cake cutting ceremony at my room which thankfully did not include “birthday bumps” and “Cake face pack” as I was constantly accepting birthday wishes on my mobile. I made sure that the cake was finished off before I put my mobile down so that I did not end up with the creamy face pack. This is that yummy cake.

In the morning, I had to wake up early as my mom had been constantly reminding me from the past ten days that I have to go to the temple in the morning and give food and money to the beggars. She is constantly consulting 3 astrologers to know what is going to happen to me in the future and one of them(Don’t know which one) provided her with this Temple thingy. So there I was, dragging my roommate Lokesh with me, at a local restaurant, asking for 10 “separate” packets of Idlies(Yeah, you read it right). I did everything according to my mom’s satisfaction, which I knew, would eventually give her a chance to tell my sister that I am such an obedient boy and she should be like me. Sweet na??

We had planned for a Lunch in one of the four star hotel in Chennai, so I arranged for a cab to pick us up. Another cake was waiting there, to be castrated by me.

As we had our lunch, I was showered with cards and gifts and I was quite overwhelmed. The cards were beautiful and I could never have guessed the gifts. I was asked to make three guesses, but I blurted out anything just because I was so excited to tear off and see what’s inside. Thanks you guys for making my birthday truly memorable. Here is a sneak peek into the gifts.

*Drums rolling. Tension mounting up. The curtain goes up slowly*

Ok, I got this really cool Philips Digital photo frame and “tashan” style goggles specially imported from America by my friends working there. The gifts were finalized after some grueling offshore-onsite discussions with my friends here. For those of you who don’t know, a digital photo frame comes with a memory card where you can upload photos and it will play them just like a slide show. It looks just like a normal photo frame in which photos keep on changing. How cool is that!!!! And the goggs looked just purrfect on me and it was something I was thinking of buying from a long time. A million thanks to the members of tararumpum gang.

Next on the agenda was a movie. We were all in a mood to laugh and make diggs at a movie and what better movie could have solved the purpose other than, you guessed it right, TASHAN. Also, one of my friend had not seen the movie and we all wanted to see the look on her face after the movie ended. We were quite surprised to see a house full and inside people were actually enjoying the movie once it started. We laughed our hearts out and clapped whenever any atrocity was bestowed upon us, which was quite often. The look on my friend’s face after the movie ended was priceless!!! We ended the day by having dinner at one of the restaurants where we have always been on every special occasion, whether it being someone’s birthday or an I-am-leaving-for-U.S.-party or Shit-I-lost-the-BET-party.

So there. Another birthday added to the string of memorable birthdays I am having from the past so many years. Now for those of you who have committed the crime of forgetting my birthday, can leave a message here or can call me. My blogging buddies can also wish me here.

That’s it for the day, Ladies and Gentlemen.

I have been toying with the idea of writing this post from a long time. Largely because it is about a book about which a lot has been written and said and accepted. It took me almost a year to pick up a copy and buy it. Its hard to describe this syndrome, when you know that a book is good, when you have heard everyone praise it to skies and you still don’t buy it. Its as if your brain is asking you to wait, wait for the right time…

I picked up The Kite Runner at the Crossword store at a mall in Delhi. I started reading it in a bus ride from Delhi to Kurukshetra, where I went to collect my degree. It was a six hour to and fro ride on the Haryana Roadways bus. As soon as I opened the book, I got a stare of disapproval from a “Jat” uncle sitting next to me.

“Chora hoke Navel padhan laaag reya hai ( A boy reading novel!!!!)”. Good old Haryana.

I completely ignored the stare and gave him an intellectual look while adjusting my glasses. As I turned the pages of the book, it completely sucked me in. The simplicity of the book amazed me. The story never feels make-believe, but seems like a true story. This could have happened to someone, I told myself. I grabbed my degree as soon as possible, jumped into a return bus to Delhi and jumped into the novel again. That’s jumping twice. Next day, I had a flight to Chennai, and I was again lost in the pages of this beautiful book. Lokesh, who was with me in the flight got bored to death, as even the air hostesses were not so patakha.

The book left a deep impression on me. For days I could not think of anything else. Was Afghanistan actually so beautiful?? How would the sky look when so many kites fly in it?? How would one feel when he knows that he can’t go back and make everything right?? How would one feel when he goes back to his home and tries to find the reminiscence of the past in everything that is destroyed?? Can you really know where a cut kite will land beforehand, as Hassan always did?? The books just throws you in the realms of reality. You just can’t ignore it. Yes, it is a fiction, but its narration encompasses the prosperity, troubles and destruction of a nation. And that is no fiction.

In a way the book is more of a story of Hassan and Sohrab rather than Amir. Hassan’s death shook me more than anything in the book, because while reading the story you start believing that some day Amir and Hassan will meet and everything would be all right. Its the vulnerable, submissive and yet strong character of Hassan which leaves an impression for days. Sohrab’s suicide attempt was another point in the story where I stopped reading and stared at the sunset from my seat in the flight. The ending of the book left me smiling. The last page, at which Amir tells Sohrab - “For you a thousand times over”, is frozen in my mind. I think you can say this line only to someone you really really love.

The book was also a reality check fo me. For a while I was so glad of the kind of world I live in. I thanked God everyday. It also made me realise that time never remains the same. The turmoil which the character of Baba goes through is unimaginable. To work at a gas station after loosing everything you have built up over the years is something which only a strong willed person can do. The book also made me realise that there is no bigger insult than taking someone for granted, specially a person who loves you without any strings attached.

Now before this post gets toooo personal and sentimental I would end it with the news about the “loot”. Before dwelling into that I would like to recommend this book to everyone. Read it, if you still haven’t, you fools!!!

About the Loot :

A few months back I participated in an essay writing competition in my company. The topic was “Should I still be reading books?” and Surprise!!!! I won the second prize. You can read the essay here. Anyways, the post is not about the essay, but the aftermath. I won Crossword gift coupons worth 2500 Rs and I was dying to spend it on all the books which I was dying to buy. That’s dying twice. So I recently got a chance to rummage a Crossword store near my house and bought 8 books. I got quite a few looks that day.

Is-he-crazy-or-what-look

Ummm-he-must-be-rich-look

I-must-not-stand-behind-him-at-the-cash-counter-as-it-will-take-ages-look

God!!!-how-can-someone-waste-2500 bucks-on-books-look (This came from my sister)

WTF-look

Well, I ignored all of them except the second one.

So, here is a look at the LOOT. Ta!!!!Da!!!!

Howwzzzat???

And incidently today is World Book and Copyright day. So, Happy WBCD!!!

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Warning : This post is not for the weak hearted. You might experience nausea or temporary coma/shock after watching the disturbing images. Please keep a glass of water with you before reading further.

What you are viewing are the glorious images from the top Indian News channels. For those of you who are not very much conversant with Hindi, the translations are just below the images.

From top to bottom : Commissioner Sahib’s dog found, Where is Sanif ? ( This is hopefully the dog’s name), The dog was kidnapped(??!!!) on 5 November 2007, Delhi Commissioner’s dog found (This line is just below Breaking News)

From top to bottom : Commissioner’s dog, The Dog went missing on 25 March (Errrr….wasn’t it 5 November earlier???)

From top to bottom : Queen cat on rooftop ( Well…its not a “queen” cat actually, but in India we have a habit of calling cats/girls/brides that way. ), the drama(of the cat, that is) lasted for 6.5 hours.

The last line is some “irrelevant” news on Amitabh and Thakery, neither of whom is related to the queen cat in any way.

From top to bottom : The cat jumped down finally on its own ( What were they expecting? That she will develope wings and fly away??? ), Cat stuck on rooftop (the “queen” part has vanished by now).

The last line is again some gibberish nonsense news which I am quite sure is not about the cat.

The first reaction on watching the images is a loud laugh but then if we think seriously, what are we looking at? Aren’t we somehow responsible of this Grendel? Or are the news channels taking the masses too lightly and trying their patience? Aaj Tak has been awarded the Indian Television Academy’s Best Hindi News Channel six times in a row and has a viewership exceeding 45 million and is closely followed by Star News in terms of viewership, but this does not stop them from being pedestrian. Does it?

Indulging in infotainment is understandable (but not justifiable) where the focus is on marketing and TRPs instead of journalism, but this kind of “breaking news” does not even come in this category. Do the news channels run out of relevant news (which is a hard feat to achieve, specially in India)? Or do they think that the Indian masses are so downright dumb that they will lap up anything served to them? Or is the “Indian mentality” of spicing up everything for its own vicarious thrills taking its toll?

According to a poll conducted by BBC/Reuters/Media Center, Media is more trusted than Governments. In India, 82% of the people who took part in the poll trusted media more than the Government. The most important news source for Indians are the News channels(mentioned by 37%), followed by newspapers. When asked about the most trusted News channel, Aaj Tak won hands on. And then what are we served? Breaking news about lost dogs and terrified cats?

Does these news channels realise the kind of responsibilities they are supposed to handle and the unabashed mockery they make of it?

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The concept of Parallel universes is not very old and the initial hints can be dated back to 1957 when Hugh Everett gave the “Many worlds interpretation” of the quantum mechanics. Ironically, even after being a Physics student for almost half a decade, I came across this concept while watching an episode of GhostBusters on Cartoon Network. In the said episode, it so happens that the parallel dimensions overlap suddenly and people are able to move from one world into another. The Ghostbusters come across a set of people from the other dimension and befriend them and so on and so forth. I was so amazed by the concept that it remained with me for long.

Also, its surprising to know that the idea was initially proposed in the 1941 short story titled “El Jardín de senderos que se bifurcan(The garden of forking paths)” written by Jorge Luis Borges more than a decade before the actual theory came into picture.  

The idea actually caught fire with the Superstring theory, which focused towards explaining all the fundamental forces of Physics by considering them as the vibrations of a tiny super-symmetric string. Suddenly a four dimensional world in which we live was not enough and scientists started talking about 10,11,20,100 and then n dimensions.

The theory also lead to a better understanding of the Big Bang Theory, which has been a topic of debate since its inception. If we consider the M-Theory(which is nothing but a super-set of the Super-string theory), then the universe consists of 11 dimensions out of which we are aware of only 4 as the rest of them are very tightly wrapped and thus are not accessible to us. So, basically our universe is just another bubble amongst the many bubbles occurring simultaneously in the eleventh dimension. And when two such bubbles collide with each other, then a Big Bang occurs which gives birth to another universe. So in a way, the Big Bang was not actually the “beginning of everything” but just happened along the way.

Scientists like Lisa Randall have further fuelled the parallel dimension theory by proposing that Gravity is a very weak force as compared to electromagnetism simply because it is concentrated in another dimension and just seeps into our dimension. You can read further about this here.

All this talk has been a topic of fascination and fiction for decades but Physicists have now started taking it seriously as it simplifies a lot of theories. On the other hand, ever since the concept took wings, there has been numerous fiction stories and movies based on this concept like Alice in Wonderland, The wizard of Oz, Spirited away, Gulliver’s travels, Chronicles of Narnia, The Hitchhikers’s guide to the galaxy to name a few.

On a personal note, I myself have been completely smitten by the idea and ended up writing a short story titled “The loop” based on this concept. You can read the story here.

Well, come to think of it, doesn’t this theory also answers the questions of the appearance of Aliens and UFO, Ghosts, werewolves, Witches, Yeti, Demons and so many other phenomenons which are beyond our understandings. Maybe they all exist in some other dimension and pay us a visit at times. What’s wrong in imagining??

Its a known fact that the speed of light is not fast enough to travel across stars or galaxies. A round trip to Mars would take more than a year of travelling at the current speed of our spacecrafts, or less if this new rocket technology is implemented. Then how would we explain so many UFO sightings? If Alien crafts travel at the speed of light(technically you can’t travel faster than that), then it would take them ages to reach our planet. There has to be some other mechanism. This is where the theory of parallel dimensions start making sense and this also gave rise to the theory predicting the presence of wormholes or wrap drives which is an equally interesting theory. But more on it later.

In the meantime, enjoy the following video titled - Imagining the Tenth Dimension

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